photoshop actions ...

I was introduced to the wonderful world of photoshop actions last year by my friend Jen Kiaba. It was love at first sight. Simple put they are a way of changing the tones & feel of a photo through a series of actions in photoshop, done all at one time. & they are so much fun. I love messing around with the free ones on the web (check out websites such as Coffee shop & The Pioneer Women) & customizing them for my own work.

As a photographer i firmly believe that composition is the key to a good photo, & photoshop is a tool in creating stunning images but it needs to be used in conjunction with the actual process of taking a photograph. I personally feel it is wrong to use photoshop to "remove" an object from a photograph because you don't like it there (& trust me when i say there is a whole lot of debate on this subject) & actions can & do sometimes push the boundaries. But i feel that where you are using them in the same way you would use a camera, a lens, light, or the old school dark room it's ok & all kinds of fun.

Anyways back to actions two of my wonderful talented photographic buddies have recently been creating their own actions & me being me well of course i volunteered to take a look. On the butterfly below i used an action by Elle Moss called "dreamland" (for more information check out her blog) minus the "optional blurry edges" just because i felt for this image it didn't work (this is the fun on actions).

& for the chairs i used "dark dreamy glow" created by Jen Kiaba that i have fallen in love with (it creates such a haunting feel to many of my images for some reason) & totally transforms what would otherwise be two wooden chairs stood in the corner.